Arts & Culture

Allentown businesses and high school students were honored at the Allentown Chamber of Commerce annual awards reception at the Renaissance Allentown Hotel on Thursday.

Leaders in the arts discussed the cultural and economic impacts of the industry at the Lehigh Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance's 2024 conference at Lafayette College.

Visitors can sample a wide variety of local craft brews while enjoying barbecue and a Grateful Dead tribute band this 2:30-4:30 p.m. Saturday, June 1. Samples are included in ticket prices: $40 in advance; $45 at the entrance.

"The Play That Goes Wrong," will begin on Wednesday, May 29 through June 16 as part of Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University. The season also includes productions of "The Merry Wives of Windsor," "Winnie the Pooh and Friends," and "The Color Purple."

Held each year, the Rooms to View House & Garden Tour gives community members a glimpse into the architectural beauty and charm of select Lehigh Valley homes across the Bethlehem area.

Godfrey Daniels, the venerable folk music club in South Bethlehem, will offer its first headline comedy show in its 48-year history at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 30, according to organizers of the just-announced show.

The Jeff Parks Founders Society was inaugurated last week with a ribbon-cutting for a permanent display on the exterior of the ArtsQuest Center, to the right of the entrance, that will honor Parks and donors by creating a collage around the current year’s official Musikfest poster.

Professional cyclists and amateurs alike participated in races on a 0.8-mile circuit winding through Easton’s Downtown throughout the day and into the evening.

“From ice cream-making to ketchup-surveying to flower-picking and nature walks, ‘Saturdays at Burnside’ promises to delight and educate guests of all ages,” said HBMS CEO LoriAnn Wukitsch.

MayFair Festival of the Arts is Friday through Sunday and will feature performances by 17 musicians, as well as arts and crafts activities for kids.

It might feel early, but some local farms are gearing up to begin their fall festivities. Most pumpkin patches, corn mazes and hay rides open to the public this month. Find out when.

Pentatonix posted a 35-second video on its TikTok account Wednesday of it singing with David Archuleta at Allentown Fair with the comment, "You CRUSHED this😉 Allentown, you were amazing❤️."

Organizers of the beer festival have teamed up with Allentown Mural Arts for a day of craft beer tasting, mural unveilings, live music and local eats on Saturday, Sept. 7.

SteelStacks Smackdown, which presenter Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations described as its "biggest live show yet featuring the finest talent from across the independent wrestling scene and television," will be at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 5 in Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.

Alan Parsons Project, which from 1976-84 had seven gold and platinum albums that collectively sold more than 5 million copies, will perform Friday, Nov. 15.

Cirque du Soleil's "Crystal," which had a successful run at PPL Center in 2018, will return early in 2025 "due to popular demand," Cirque announced.

Labor Day marked the end of the 172nd annual Great Allentown Fair. From typical fair fare to live entertainment, what stood out to many was the optimal weather.

The ventriloquist and comedian brought his act to the second-to-last day of the Allentown Fair. It was his seventh headline show at the fair.

Chef Ryan Lukow of the Savory Grille unseated reigning champion Chef Courtney Davenport on Sunday to win the Allentown Fair’s annual Iron Chef cooking competition.

Local media faced off against politicians for the Allentown Fair's annual grape stomping competition. This year was different, though, with the media team winning for the first time in years.

Five-member vocal group Pentatonix returned Saturday to Allentown Fair for an audience about three-quarters of 7,500 and — this time on a lovely night — proved it wasn't just a one-note wonder.

The scrapple contest was held on Saturday, Aug. 31 at the Great Allentown Fair.